Statewide, the number of children getting religious exemptions increased from 2,996 during the 2010-11 school year to 9,427 for the 2017-18 school year, which reflects an increase from 0.4 percent to 1.18 percent, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Protection.

In Greenville County, the number rose from 674 to 1,946, or from 0.86 percent to 2.23 percent.

Anderson County saw a rise from 95 to 376, or from 0.31 percent to 1.16 percent, while Pickens County grew from 59 to 199, or from 0.36 percent to 1.23 percent, DHEC reported.

The 11-county Upstate region saw the numbers go from 1,334 to 4,136, or from 0.6 percent to 1.84 percent.

Outbreaks nationwide

The South Carolina measles case occurred in a Georgetown County resident, according to DHEC, which has asked health care providers to watch for measles. Before that, the last case was in 1997 in Charleston.

Nationwide, while nine measles outbreaks — defined as three or more linked cases —have been reported this year, as of Aug. 11 there were 124 cases in 22 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most were among unvaccinated people.

At least one measles case has been reported in South Carolina.(Photo: Everyday Health)

Travel to countries where measles is still common is often responsible for measles cases in the U.S., the CDC reported.

In 2014, there were 23 measles outbreaks nationwide for a total of 667 cases — including 383 that largely occurred among unvaccinated Amish people in Ohio — many of which were associated with people who brought it to the U.S. from the Philippines, the CDC said.

And in 2015, there was a large, multistate outbreak linked to Disneyland in California, also linked to a traveler, that led to 188 cases.

It’s a disturbing national trend, said Dr. Robin LaCroix, medical director of GHS Children’s Hospital, noting that measles can lead to complications like pneumonia and encephalitis.

“Worldwide, measles cases are well over double what they were in the past,” said LaCroix. “Someone can have it and initially not be very sick with it and expose people, like the child at Disneyland.

“The same is true around pertussis,” she added. “There was a huge outbreak in California and a large percentage of those kids were not vaccinated.”

Dr. Robin LaCroix(Photo: Submitted photo)

Georgia is experiencing a resurgence of meningitis in adolescents, who are at higher risk of acquiring it and being left forever neurologically impaired, she said.

One problem around vaccination, said LaCroix, is that there are now generations of Americans who have no memory of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and polio.

“There are populations now, even grandparents, who don’t remember the days of measles and whooping cough and haven’t had that sort of firsthand experience, so the perception is that these diseases aren’t as serious or devastating as they used to be,” she said.

“We were able to eliminate smallpox, but it killed millions of people. And polio,” she added. “People have forgotten how horrific they were.”

No link to autism

Cathy Storey, director of medical services for Greenville County Schools, said there are more religious exemptions this year than ever before.

Should a case of measles or mumps occur in their school, unvaccinated children are required to stay out for 26 days, she said.

Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known in doctors' offices as the MMR vaccine, can prevent 97% of measles cases when a person is exposed to the highly contagious virus, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.(Photo: Getty Images)

“And if a case occurs the next week, the 26 days starts over,” Storey said. “And the district is not obligated to provide education at home, so they could significantly miss a lot of school.”

But she said some parents use religious exemptions to keep from vaccinating their children because they’re afraid it can cause autism, even though research purporting a link has been thoroughly debunked.

LaCroix blames misinformation on the internet for confusing parents.

“The body of scientific literature has taken us to the point ... that vaccination has been proven to be safe and not a cause of autism,” she said.

Meeting requirements

Religious exemptions are granted by the health department, but people requesting them are not questioned about their beliefs or reasons, according to DHEC.

DHEC notes that exemption numbers are based on total students enrolled per school year, which have been increasing annually.

A patient receives a vaccination.(Photo: File)

While the state reports an increasing trend in religious exemptions, it says that a high percentage of children in each county are meeting the state requirements for vaccination.

According to the CDC, 96 percent of children enrolled in kindergarten were vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella as well as hepatitis B, polio, chicken pox and Dtap — or diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis — in the 2016-17 school year.

Preventing disease

“Though we don’t know the exact reasons for the continued small increase in religious exemptions requested in South Carolina,” said Dr. Teresa Foo, medical consultant for DHEC’s Divisions of Immunization and Acute Disease Epidemiology, “we do know that most kindergarten children are receiving the required vaccines.”

Dr. Teresa Foo(Photo: SCDHEC)

Vaccines are among the most successful public health interventions to prevent disease, according to DHEC. And a high vaccination rate helps protect people who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons such as allergies, and people with cancer or compromised immune systems.

“It is important for parents to make informed decisions regarding immunizations for their children,” Foo said.

“Vaccines not only help protect an individual from diseases, but getting vaccinated also helps protect people in the community who are at risk of serious complications from those diseases.”

For the list of vaccinations required for school in South Carolina, go to https://bit.ly/2Lp4XxW.